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Sunday, January 13, 2013

Leighton's Third Post

In addition to visiting Woodrow Wilson's birthplace, Barbara and I took Nikki
on a little sightseeing tour to visit Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. It
was a little overcast, but Nikki's fast speed made her very useful to have.
While we were in the area, we decided to go down the road to visit James Monroe's
home Ashlawn. It's only three miles from Monticello. The first thing we noticed
about Ashlawn is how humble seeming it was compared to Monticello. It
looks like any other old farmhouse in the area.

Monticello:

Here's a couple from
Ashlawn for comparison.

Back to Monticello. There is a sort of
underground tunnel system that runs under the main house and goes out beyond on
both sides. The walls are lined with brick and stone with a plaster coating
over most of it. There's also little windows at ground level for light.

Down in these tunnels are
all sorts of rooms off to the side. Some were storage rooms, and some were used
for more important reasons such as the wine cellar and beer cellar. :) There was
even a smokehouse, although it wasn't directly under the main house.

Then there was the garden.
Jefferson was quite the innovator when it came to agriculture. He
tried a lot of different vegetables, livestock, grapes for wine and he even
invented some farm implements. The little brick temple was where he would go
and just rest and enjoy the view. I'm sure you could see a lot further back in
his day!

And lastly Jefferson's
grave site. It was very unassuming.

There is a whole lot more
I could tell you about the man and his home, including the slaves that worked,
lived and died here. But I wouldn't be able to do it justice. If you get the
chance to visit I think it would be very worthwhile.

2 comments:

Wonderful set of images Leighton. I'd love to visit Monticello. I studied American history at the university with a focus on the colonial period. I greatly admire Jefferson who despite his human frailties inspired the new nation.